Honorary Lecture - Prof. Laurent Vulliet

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Event details

Date 04.10.2023
Hour 17:1519:00
Speaker Prof. Laurent Vulliet
Location Online
Category Inaugural lectures - Honorary Lecture
Event Language French, English

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) are pleased to invite you to the honorary lecture of Professor Laurent Vulliet,

Wednesday, October 4, 2023
17:15 - 19:00

EPFL, Swiss Tech Convention Center, Auditorium B

Program:

  • Welcome address, Prof. C. Binder, ENAC Dean
  • Message from Prof. L. Laloui, Director, Laboratory of Soil Mechanics
  • Honorary lecture, Prof. L. Vulliet
  • Message from Prof. M. Vetterli, EPFL President
  • Cocktail

In the afternoon, a symposium will be held from 13:30, in the same room, organized by the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics, on the perspectives of geotechnics. More information and registration

Title: "Underground: the last frontier"

Abstract:

The concept of the "last frontier" originated with the conquest of the American West in the 19th century. It refers to the vast unexplored territories regarded as the last frontier for expansion and opportunity. In a way, the underground embodies similar intentions and potentials: immense and promising resources, risks and opportunities, in a largely unknown environment.

The speaker will act as a guide on a journey from the surface to the depths of this immense underground space, in an attempt to get to know it a little better, envisage its use and evoke its protection. He will share his experiences to illustrate the importance of geomechanics and related disciplines, but also the need to go that extra mile to make major underground projects a reality. A triple plea: for science and the pleasure of discovery; for " design together ", the founding concept of the ENAC School, in praise of multidisciplinarity; and for daring to revisit governance, which too often shows its limits in the management of complex projects.

The conference will be held in French, with presentations in English.

About the speaker:

Laurent Vulliet is a professor at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), former director of the soil mechanics laboratory and former dean of the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), which he contributed to found in 2000. A member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and the National Geological Commission, Laurent Vulliet sits on various boards of directors and foundations.

His teaching and research activities cover soil mechanics and risk management, using both theoretical and practical approaches. His favorite topics include constitutive modeling in elasto-visco-plasticity, hydro-mechanical coupling, unsaturated soils, soil-structure interactions, landslides, probabilistic approaches and risk analysis. He is a fervent advocate of experimental methods (both in the laboratory and in situ) combined with analytical and numerical approaches (finite elements, artificial neural networks).

Laurent Vulliet has worked as a civil engineer on a wide range of projects, whether as a project manager in a geotechnical engineering firm, as a CEO of an international consulting firm, as a board member of a major international construction company, or as an independent expert.

His interest in promoting science outside his alma mater has led him to encourage new visions in multicultural environments, with a growing interest in governance issues.

 

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Practical information

  • Informed public
  • Registration required

Organizer

  • LMS

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